Brett Young Says Life on Tour Is Crazy Busy … But Plenty of Fun, Too

Brett Young struck tour gold when he was invited to join Lady Antebellum as an opening act on their You Look Good World Tour. The "Like I Loved You" singer has been able to see how popular his music is becoming thanks to the thousands of fans who are hanging onto each word during his brief set. Young is also learning that there's a lot of work that goes into making sure he and his band are ready for their moment in the spotlight.

"Until you do it, you don’t realize how long those days are, and I mean that in the best way," shares Young. "We load out of our trailer at noon, so that’s really when it starts. We hit the stage at 2:30. I’ll then have some sort of radio contest winner that comes at 4:00, soundcheck at 4:30. I then have the other radio station in town, their winner does a different thing, which is like a Facebook live interview. And then I have about 25 minutes to shower and get ready before I go to meet and greet ... then I go to the radio room, and now it’s not about the winners but it’s about the heads of the station.

"By that time, it’s usually about 7:00, five after seven. I’ve to go back to the bus and get my ears on for a 7:30 start. So usually I try to wake up at 10:00 or 10:30 and then get a quick workout in before everything starts at noon," Young continues. "Also, Charles [Kelley] is having me come out and sing Tim McGraw’s "Something Like That" with him in their set, so even though there’s a two-hour lull, you’ve kind of got to keep the wheels on it until then, so it ends up feeling kind of like a noon-to-11PM-type day. Other than that, I sleep really good on the bus, so I get excited to go back to my hole and go to sleep."

Young is also finding time to bond with the other people out on the road with him. He makes sure they have at least some time each day for fun -- and a little cardio as well.

"We’re actually the camp that’s setting up the [basketball] hoop on this trip, which has been fun, and [the other] guys have come over and played with us a little bit," shares Young. "We bring out a football, we bring out a basketball hoop. Hillary [Scott]’s husband and Lady A’s drummer, [Chris Tyrell] -- one of their trailers is literally a fitness trailer, so he’s out there training anyone who wants to get a workout."

Young says that he uses whatever downtime he has both to get business matters taken care of and to get his creative juices flowing, often with one of his tour bosses.

"Charles and I have hung out quite a bit," Young reveals. "Whenever I bring writers on the road, he goes, ‘Hey, let me jump in. Let me write with you’ ... and it’s been a blast.

"The Lady A camp is so great," Young gushes. "They’ve not only been so easy to work with, but I’ve been able to learn so much from them, too."

The final show on the North American leg of Lady Antebellum's You Look Good World Tour will take place on Sept. 9, in Nashville. Young will then kick off his own headlining trek, the Caliville Tour, on Oct. 14 in Charlottesville, Va. A list of all of Young's upcoming shows is available on his website.